So people were clamouring for the league to call penalties the same in regular season and playoffs and now that they are, there's complaining. I guess they wanted it the other way, that is, piles of PP's in the playoffs.

Clearly, I forgot where I was. My bad, won't happen again.
- Thorny

You are forgiven

Honestly I think if the refs would have just called the 2 minute minor we wouldn't be talking about the slash today. Don't know for sure if they could call a double minor or not like they do for high sticking, but that would have more appropriate. I think the problem is that it was a play the refs obviously saw and they didn't even call a minor penalty is the issue.

To the Sabres fans:

Don't you have snow to shovel?
I'm out of wings. Could you please fetch me some more?

Lastly, Bret Hull WASN'T in the crease
- mont23

Some of you are talking about turning the NHL into a game with less physicality than the NBA. The penalties you are talking about would basically mean guys never touch each other ever. Even if your 100% playing honest trying not to commit any of these fouls you will accidentally slash a guy multiple times a month making plays on the puck. With draconian penalties it would mean guys would have to play scared to never do anything. I guess shot blocking would still be legal. But the way your describing penalties would mean that once a player has puck possession he maintains puck possession until he shoots or throws a very bad pass. There would be no stealing the puck from another guy because of risks of penalty.

NO...I want action punished, but if a result occurs that injures player, then penalty/suspension should be greater.

Its illegal to shoot a gun, but the punishment is different if someone gets hurts due to the gun shot.


A slash is a penalty. If the slash really injures a player (.ie. losing a finger) than punishnment should be greater,
- rrentz

well then.

Honestly I think if the refs would have just called the 2 minute minor we wouldn't be talking about the slash today. Don't know for sure if they could call a double minor or not like they do for high sticking, but that would have more appropriate. I think the problem is that it was a play the refs obviously saw and they didn't even call a minor penalty is the issue.
- adambuffalo

This is the problem with the refs every game. That slash should have been called a penalty no doubt. I just think Pens fans are tired of hearing about how the league favors the Pens, when only 1 person has been suspended in 11 years worth of hits on Crosby...let that sink in. Pens are missing 8 regulars because of cheap shots, and how many of them were not called? People want to make its a Crosby issue, when its clearly an NHLPA, NHL and Ref issue.

Honestly I think if the refs would have just called the 2 minute minor we wouldn't be talking about the slash today. Don't know for sure if they could call a double minor or not like they do for high sticking, but that would have more appropriate. I think the problem is that it was a play the refs obviously saw and they didn't even call a minor penalty is the issue.
- adambuffalo

It wasn't even worth of a 2 min penalty. If you go back thru the game they missed 40 power plays for similar slashes.

The really crazy thing about threads like this to me is we have Guentzel getting knocked into next week by a clearly illegal hit and who knows when he will play again...and if the Pens had an enforcer and it was 1985, and some knuckledragger who can't play a lick had beaten Ristolainen bloody, there would have been all kinds of platitudes about how "justice had been served". But when the response to this nonsense is Sid giving a Sabre a stick in the nuts, or a Sen a whack on the wrist following the Sens taking some liberties early in this game, its suddenly a federal case. The double standard is kind of hilarious if you think about it.

- ImThatGuy

THE DAWSON!!! Maybe if Moxon was you're QB, you would have won a Super Bowl.

No precedent. They are not suspending someone because of a freak injury. If this was any other player that slashed Methot, no one would have thought twice about it except maybe Sens fans, but because it's Crosby, everybody and is butthurt.

Hmmm - let me think about this - if on Sunday night, Shayne Gostisbehere slashes Evgeni Malkin, effectively skewering his finger and forcing him out of action for a month and a half, and the refs missed it during the game... and then Ghost gets a game in the press box from the League for that... I probably wouldn't be happy about it, but I think I would grudgingly understand. (By the way - I purposely chose Ghost, because I really don't think he would do this.)

As for no precedent... I guess you're right, mangled fingers don't happen that often... but if you don't punish for that, then you risk seeing it a whole lot more often. I.e. what will it take to suspend for a game? More intent to injure? Look, what Crosby did was more than negligent (failing to take proper care), since slashing is illegal on its face... he did a malicious positive action that caused major injury. Guys have been suspended before for things the refs missed... why not this?

Your logic is sound if we lived in a logical world, but it ignores the fact that the NHL just does not care and the only reason it is getting attention is because it was Crosby that delivered the slash. If Connor Sheary does this, it isn't on anyone's radar. I'm not saying that makes it right, just the way it is.

Hmmm - let me think about this - if on Sunday night, Shayne Gostisbehere slashes Evgeni Malkin, effectively skewering his finger and forcing him out of action for a month and a half, and the refs missed it during the game... and then Ghost gets a game in the press box from the League for that... I probably wouldn't be happy about it, but I think I would grudgingly understand. (By the way - I purposely chose Ghost, because I really don't think he would do this.)

As for no precedent... I guess you're right, mangled fingers don't happen that often... but if you don't punish for that, then you risk seeing it a whole lot more often. I.e. what will it take to suspend for a game? More intent to injure? Look, what Crosby did was more than negligent (failing to take proper care), since slashing is illegal on its face... he did a malicious positive action that caused major injury. Guys have been suspended before for things the refs missed... why not this?
- copelal

Hmmm - let me think about this - if on Sunday night, Shayne Gostisbehere slashes Evgeni Malkin, effectively skewering his finger and forcing him out of action for a month and a half, and the refs missed it during the game... and then Ghost gets a game in the press box from the League for that... I probably wouldn't be happy about it, but I think I would grudgingly understand. (By the way - I purposely chose Ghost, because I really don't think he would do this.)

As for no precedent... I guess you're right, mangled fingers don't happen that often... but if you don't punish for that, then you risk seeing it a whole lot more often. I.e. what will it take to suspend for a game? More intent to injure? Look, what Crosby did was more than negligent (failing to take proper care), since slashing is illegal on its face... he did a malicious positive action that caused major injury. Guys have been suspended before for things the refs missed... why not this?
- copelal

I hear ya with all this man. I think however, because Sid has no previous suspension history from on ice stuff (he was suspended for not going to all star game), then he should receive a fine. If he does it again get a game or two.

Your logic is sound if we lived in a logical world, but it ignores the fact that the NHL just does not care and the only reason it is getting attention is because it was Crosby that delivered the slash. If Connor Sheary does this, it isn't on anyone's radar. I'm not saying that makes it right, just the way it is.
- Emperor Filonius

This is the issue. I posted this earlier in this thread. The NHL does not care about player safety. The one and only priority is to line the owners pockets with money. Nothing else.

If they have to make a few minor changes to try to mitigate lawsuits - which take money out of the owners pockets - they do, but don't mistake it for caring about the safety of the players.

Wait...what? l


Look, punish the intent....like I said, any boarding that gets a 5 and a game misconduct, gets you 5 games the first time you do it. If it happens again, you get 10. Make that, the standard their whole career. Draw a hard line on it, but the NHLPA will never go for it.
- Thorny

Sorry, in life, and in hockey, people get hurt regardless of the agressors intent. Intent, weather it is negligence, stupidity, anger, etc. should be addressed after the penalty, and injury, if one occurred is investigated.
The problem w/ what you are saying is that your assuming that a penalty is going to be called. If someone gets injured and the call is missed, than the NHL needs to step in and punish the player after the fact, which does occur from time to time. Sid made a slash and as a result, regardless of intent, a player was badly injured. He should NOT be playing tonight. PERIOD

Didn't see the high stick on Sid at end of game, but if it ws intentional, then of course a suspension should be handed down to Ottawas player as well.

Your first post suggested that Crosby embellished when he got hit in the face hard enough to get teeth chipped.....
- cap1681

You mean for his false fronts to be "jarred" loose? Crosby is a b!tch. Get over yourselves.

The problem with that is it can be taken advantage of. Say you're in a playoff series and your 4th liner gets slashed by the other team's star. They can pretend to be injured until the end of the series, and voila, you just knocked the other team's star player out for the rest of the series. Punishing due to injury, which in most cases is a freak occurrence (See Methot) is playing with fire.
- cap1681

Pretend!!!!!!????? Guys F***ing finger is missing..lol

They pretend all the time...its called diving. Rule already in place for that.

You mean for his false fronts to be "jarred" loose? Crosby is a b!tch. Get over yourselves.
- Khmylev

Shouldn't you be massaging ROR's unit?

This is the problem with the refs every game. That slash should have been called a penalty no doubt. I just think Pens fans are tired of hearing about how the league favors the Pens, when only 1 person has been suspended in 11 years worth of hits on Crosby...let that sink in. Pens are missing 8 regulars because of cheap shots, and how many of them were not called? People want to make its a Crosby issue, when its clearly an NHLPA, NHL and Ref issue.
- Thorny

Remind us of how many games Malkin was suspended for leaving his feet and hitting Wheeler in the head when he never had the puck.

Crazy amount of whiney cry babies posting in our blog today. Very ironic, dont you think?

Remind us of how many games Malkin was suspended for leaving his feet and hitting Wheeler in the head when he never had the puck.
- adambuffalo

crap...now where did i put my Nelson from the Simpsons gif?

HA HA!!!!

Sorry, in life, and in hockey, people get hurt regardless of the agressors intent. Intent, weather it is negligence, stupidity, anger, etc. should be addressed after the penalty, and injury, if one occurred is investigated.
The problem w/ what you are saying is that your assuming that a penalty is going to be called. If someone gets injured and the call is missed, than the NHL needs to step in and punish the player after the fact, which does occur from time to time. Sid made a slash and as a result, regardless of intent, a player was badly injured. He should NOT be playing tonight. PERIOD
- rrentz

The problem is, there needs to be a hard line on this type of stuff, and it will never happen. That is the biggest issue, from the league, to the NHLPA to the refs. If they called slashing every time it happens, it would slow it down. If they give an automatic 5 games for any type of boarding penalty, injury or not...it would slow it down. The result of the action shouldn't be punished...the action of the hit should be. If its a slash, a board, a cross check to the head. Needs to be no gray area, if you do x, then you get y amount of games. Its hard to prove intent, so just draw the line and say if this happens..then this is what happens.

Pretend!!!!!!????? Guys F***ing finger is missing..lol

They pretend all the time...its called diving. Rule already in place for that.
- rrentz

Never said Methot was pretending, i'm saying that it would be taken advantage of if that was law.

Crazy amount of whiney cry babies posting in our blog today. Very ironic, dont you think?
- MattStrat

Yes, and whenever they show up, I just think of this, and realize none of it matters.

Pretend!!!!!!????? Guys F***ing finger is missing..lol

They pretend all the time...its called diving. Rule already in place for that.
- rrentz

Yeah, the finger you can. How do you prove a concussion is gone? How do you prove that a player doesn't have one? After the game, player x says he has headaches, light hurts his head. Could be lying, just to get a suspension. Do you not include concussions in this? How about an ankle sprain? Army injury? How do you prove that? Teams will take advantage of it, by far...especially if its a player that is easy to replace.